Oklahoma horse who survived horrific dog attack now battling disease

JONES, Okla. (KFOR) – After being left for dead nearly five years ago, a horse who was seriously injured is now fighting for his life again.

In 2015, Oklahoma City Animal Welfare was called to pick up a dead horse. When animal control officers arrived on the scene, they were shocked by what they found.

Volunteers say the horse was alive and was completely tangled in a fence. They realized that his face had been severely attacked by dogs.

His ears were bitten off and he was suffering from multiple injuries and wounds across his body.

“He was tangled up in fencing and trapped on the ground and had been for at least two days,” Natalee Cross, with Blaze’s Tribute Equine Rescue, told KFOR in 2015.

Blaze’s Tribute Equine Rescue took over his care and named him Rudy.

“Rudy really is an inspiration, I think not only to myself but to many people. He’s a fighter, he’s not giving up, he wants to be here,” said Cross.

Five years later, rescuers say Rudy is now dealing with another issue.

Officials say Rudy is being sent to Oklahoma State University to have his right eye removed.

"Recently we have noticed a change to his right eye. Because the scar tissue is abnormal epithelial tissue, it appears to have turned into an aggressive skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma," a post to Facebook read.

Organizers say veterinarians will work to determine the extent of the cancer, followed by surgery to remove the eye and the surrounding tissue.